01. Defeat02. Bitter Metallic Side03. Time Takes Us All04. To The Gallows05. Svieri Doroga06. The Black Waltz07. With Terminal Intensity08. Man Of The King09. The Groan Of Wind10. Mindrust11. One From The Stands12. This Mortal Coil [Carcass cover][Japanese bonus]

This are interesting times to take a look at the Extreme Metal in Finland, a lot of releases are showing beloved bands evolving and adapting to the times. Kalmah is one of them, once tagged as a copycat of Children Of Bodom (yeah, other one), they have changed so much through the time that comparing them to the after mentioned act is quite ridiculous.

Well, from the first dark, crunchy guitar riff, it's obvious that that this isn't a typical Kalmah album. One of the most standout (and very probably the most controversial) changes lies in the vocal style, which have changed from phlegm-drenched black metal shrieks to low-register "cookie monster" death growls. I'm not a fan of the new vocals (take the terribly under-melodic vocal intro to "Time Takes Us All", for example), but I wasn't a huge fan of the old ones either, so this isn't a deal-breaking issue for me. Eventually I got used to the old ones, but they were very grating for quite a while. The quality and creativity haven't really changed; they've simply switched ends of the spectrum, so this issue really comes down to personal preference. However, a lot more than the vocals changed here.

This album took a long while to grow on me, but it kept sneaking random tracks into my Spotify sessions. I would hear a track and go "what awesomeness is this?", and when I looked at the name, it was more often than not from this very album. Complex enough to stick, epic and melodig enough to impress, Kalmah have created a fine album indeed here.